Aurora Express: A Panfandom RP

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 2, noon
Where: :)

[You've been here just over a day, and dawn hasn't come. The night remains, reigned over by the malevolent flickering of the Prism. The Prince's recording hasn't stopped at all -- perhaps it's driving you mad or perhaps it's become just part of the background noise, along with the waves, which have been getting gradually louder all morning. If you're outside, you may occasionally catch what seem to be soft lights in the distance, under the surface of the too-still sea. The only movement is the creeping edges of the water, still trying to snag you and pull you in.

But then, abruptly, those edges recede, as if in warning of a giant surge. Out in the jungle, everything goes silent, wildlife still and hunkered low against the ground. But instead of water, a creature bursts forth onto the shore with a sound not unlike some kind of distorted foghorn. It's shaped vaguely like a dolphin -- if that dolphin were barge-sized and crimson red, with bands of twinkling lights running down its side like something from the dark deep. It has no eyes. And yet it seems to see you perfectly well, snapping at anyone who gets close.

It can't reach the train. Not quite. But when it slides back into the water it only comes back again, diving and twisting to send water crashing up along the beach. The train rocks slightly with each wave, threatening to from the sand and wash into the water, where you'll all be taken in.

It's then that the recording stops. With a whir, the emergency lights in the clinic and lounge car are replaced by normal lighting, and the doors slide shut. It seems these two cars at least are functional. Even the big screen in the second-floor lounge room has come on. It begins to display text, matching the pleasant robotic voice that comes over the intercom -- the voice has no distinguishing features, ageless and sexless, but it has a kind of polite artificial cheer.]

Good Morning, Passengers.

We apologize for the delay in services. As of now, Prism capacity has reached: 30%. Power has been restored to communal facilities. Please be patient as we work to restore full operating capacity.

[A pause--]

Systems have detected imminent danger. We shall move to a safer landing point in: 6 hours. Please gather inside the train and prepare for travel. As Chain services are unavailable, please direct questions to the terminal located on the second floor Lounge.

Remember: Stay Positive! The fate of the universe depends on your healthy bonds.

[It's a mystery what the voice means by "terminal"... but if you yell at the screen you'll get an answer. It just might not be a satisfying one... And yet, the brief, robotic responses are occasionally interrupted by one that's lively and human-seeming. How odd.

Whether you have time to figure that out, however, depends on how you intend to handle your current situation. You could wait and pray the train will move before you're devoured by the sea monster... Or you could attempt to increase your chances of survival. How? That's where your teammates and fellow passengers come in. Hopefully between the lot of you, you can formulate a plan before you're all swallowed up.]

[[OOC NOTE: If you'd like a response from The Construct, please respond to the relevant toplevel. The mods will move this plot ahead again on Wednesday. At that time all services will be restored, so you won't have anything super exciting to keep track of while those in the US have a holiday. Any new posts til ten should be dated within the Day 2 noon-afternoon timeframe. In the meantime, team up ICly and OOCly and find a way to survive! Please note you have absolute permission to do what you want with this enemy. You don't need the mods' input to fight it, kill it, or get killed by it. Feel free to play it how you like in your threads!

Again, this is an Event post and you can take 300 points for participating! If you have questions hope over to last week's placements post here. If you haven't yet, you can post OOC intros there as well, but we'll aim to do some kind of friending meme over the weekend.]]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 1, starting in the morning
Where: ???

[It's morning on the Aurora and 36 newcomers, including you, are waking up queasy in their beds to the dim orange glow of emergency lights and the blare of an alarm. Lying beside you is what appears to be a smartphone -- but it won't turn on, and there's nothing to tell anyone from a lower-tech society what it even is. In fact there's no explanation for anything. All you can hear is the shrill alarm, and all you can see outside your windows is blackness. There's no sun, moon, or stars, just a complete, all-encompassing darkness and, if you look from the right angle, a view of the rest of the train hurtling through it.

The room you're in is oddly decorated, with a theme reflected by the clothes in your closet, all in a colour scheme that matches the colour of your smartphone. You may find a few other items in the closet as well -- things you need in order to access your abilities.

After a few seconds, the train jerks and shakes with impact. The alarm fades out, and in its place a recording begins to play, broken and full of static.]

"Heroes of Distant Stars, Welcome ......... The Aurora. My name is ... Prince of Stars. The worlds you knew have unfortunately ......... by Malice, and for that I can only offer my deepest condolences. You ...... why you alone were saved. ......... to that is simple: our numbers are too few. We can no longer repel the Malice. Without you, ......... You must use ......... to bring back the Light. Rely on your teammates for support, and ......... victory.

Please, save us all. You are our only hope."

[The recording repeats endlessly after that, with only a brief pause between -- a young man's voice, sad and desperate, over and over in the silence.

When you try to leave your room the door, while evidently automatic, needs to be manually dragged open. After that you'll find yourself in a two-floor dormitory in the same theme as your room. There are seven total doors in the hall, and stairs down to the elaborately decorated main floors. There's food in the fridge, but no actual power on to keep it cold, so if you want to eat you should do so now before it spoils. The doors are all similarly out of order -- they must be pulled or pushed open and shut in their sliding frames, and they don't have any locks to speak of.

At least you're not alone -- each train car has five or six total occupants, all who've been given the same set of colour-coded clothes and useless phone as you. Some of you are confused but intact. Some of you remember nothing before waking. Some of you remember, but have lost all the power you know yourself to carry. And yet there are no answers. Only the train, the darkness, and the increasing sound of lapping waves.

Look outside now, and you'll see the train has landed on an island in the midst of sea so calm it's like one big, black, mirror. The island itself has a beach of fine black sand, on which the train rests. Nearby is a huge pedestal above which floats an odd cube in the center of two concentric metal rings, all spinning like a gyroscope. It glows with black light and a malevolence so intense that even those without magical senses can detect it.

Further inland, however, it's all tangled growth and unintelligible whispers. Entering the jungle will prove terribly dangerous -- it's full of black snakes whose venom will leave you dizzy and nauseous, or if the snake is big enough could even stop your heart. There are furry pig-like beasts that are edible, but they're accompanied by carnivorous monsters reminiscent of tigers with horns, six eyes, and saber teeth. Some plants are harmless, or bear edible fruit, but others let off spores that cause frightening hallucinations, and others will reach out with tendrils to try to pull you into their many-toothed maws.

But it's not the jungle you have to worry about first. It's the water sneaking up the beach as if it's alive -- if you let it pool ankle-deep around you, it'll drag you with terrifying speed into the sea, pulling you under with intent to let you drown, your corpse to feed the unknown horrors deep below.

So what will you do, Heroes of Distant Stars?]

[[OOC NOTE: The only items in your character's closet are clothes and any mod-approved item-based power exceptions. For the duration of this event, all unnecessary systems have been disengaged. This means there's no power to anything but the lights and health pods, and your Chain will not come on. This will last an IC day or two, depending on game speed. For now make friends, and figure out as much as you can on your own until the Aurora's Prism comes back on!

You can make separate posts if you want a team meet-and-greet, etc, for your team only. This post is for engaging with the outside or hanging out in public spaces!

Also, this is an official Event post, so you can all add 300 sparks to your sheet if you tag in!]]